An acrobatic handstand
2 min readRolling with Cups and the Chinese Tradition of the Circle Rolling with Cups is a highly popular traditional Chinese acrobatic act.Atop a small round platform，the acrobat，in most cases a woman，balances towers of glass cups on the limbs，forehead，and mouth while fluidly moving through a series of graceful postures and contortions.Most impressive is when the performer arches into a constantly revolving circular backbend，the crystalline towers of cups remaining perfectly balanced through every changing angle and motion.Another stunt of this type is Rolling with Lights，identical to Rolling with Cups except that the cups hold lit candles.
Rolling with Cups has its origin in ancient sacrificial ceremonies，in which priests manipulated ritual objects in various patterns to invoke the deities.Gradually，these rites came to be used to entertain the people rather than to entreat the gods，and a number of ritual movements and gestures evolved into ac-robatic stunts.Each type of Chinese acrobatic act relies on specific basic movements.Fundamental to Rolling with Cups is contorting the body into a circular form.In traditional Chinese culture and philos-ophy，the circle represents moral integrity，and is often equated with beauty.According to the Chinese creation myth，the universe came into being when humanity’s first ancestor，Pan Gu，split the primor-dial circular egg of undifferentiated Chaos into Heaven and Earth.As a result，the circle has come tosymbolize the cycle of creation and the eternal laws of Nature.The Chinese words for”perfection”and”proficiency”both are based on the character for”circle.”Achieving these attributes（becoming”well-rounded，”as we would say in English）is considered to be one of life’s highest goals.All types of Chinese art，including architecture，crafts，painting and calligraphy，music and theater，incorporate the circle as a symbol of perfection.
